


Mage: Chapter 8- Countdown Till Test Time

by 50Funny



Series: Mage [8]
Category: mage - Fandom
Genre: Mage, Magic, Magical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 13:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18692014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50Funny/pseuds/50Funny





	Mage: Chapter 8- Countdown Till Test Time

Part 1- 8 Hours Till Test Time  
Liz, Alex and Bip stumbled down the busy capital city streets, exhausted by their long run from the train. The group collapsed on the side of the streets, too fatigued to continue.  
“I never thought we’d make it,” Liz panted heavily.  
“I can taste my lungs,” wheezed Bip.  
“At least we finally made it to capital city,” Alex huffed.   
Liz looked up, gaining a burst of energy as she realized she had at long last reached capital city. She stood up bursting with excitement.  
“capital city!” Liz exclaimed.  
Liz’s eye’s darted around the busy capital city streets, amazed by the enormous brick buildings touching the sky. The air was filled with the sounds of thousands of voices and screeches of car tires along the streets. Liz frantically ran around, jumping from shop window to shop window taking in the new and strange products on sale.   
“Liz calm down,” Alex said as he regained his stamina.  
Liz ignored Alex continuing to dart around. She turned her head to see a large group of people on the other side of the busy street staring into a shop window. Turning around, Liz ran across the street causing the cars to break violently and the air to fill with the sounds of honking horns as they narrowly avoided hitting her. She continued across the street ignorant of her close call. The group around the window began to dissipate as Liz placed her face up against the glass.  
“Wooooooooow,” Liz said, looking into the window.  
Behind the glass, sitting atop a luxurious velvet pillow, sat an intricately engraved stick. A small piece of cardboard sat in front of it with ‘Echo Model Twenty’ written on it in cursive. Alex and Bip approached Liz from down the street having safely crossed at the pedestrian crossing.  
“Liz you can’t just run across the street like that, it’s dangerous,” Alex said.  
“What’s that?” Liz asked, ignoring Alex’s lecture.  
Alex looked into the window at the object.  
“That’s a catalyst,” stated Alex.  
“A catalyst? What’s that?”   
Bip and Alex turned around and looked at Liz dumbfounded by her ignorance.  
“You can’t be serious?” Alex said.  
Liz nodded her head up and down.  
“The magical pathways in a person lead to five places, the hands, feet and the mouth. Those are the places magic users can use to cast their abilitiess. A catalyst, like that, is an item imbedded with magic that can act as a new place to cast from,” Bip explained continued. “They have a tendency to dilute magic and make it a little bit weaker, so pro mages don’t typically use them. They’re usually used by new magic users to make practice easier, but some choose to use them for the safety aspect.”  
“Safety aspect?” Liz puzzled.  
“You’re kidding me?” Alex said. “Magic can be incredibly dangerous. If you don’t know what you're doing when you cast, you could seriously injure yourself, or even die,”  
“I never knew,” said Liz quietly, disturbed by this new information.  
“Then it’s a miracle you haven’t blown your arm off yet,” declared Alex.  
Voices started to cut through among the drone of city noises.  
“Come join our guild!” came a call from the distance.  
Liz looked off down the street to see a line of people, holding up signs and handing out flyers.  
“Join the Wolf Pack Guild,” shouted an athletic man draped in a wolf pelt.  
“Come play with the Gamers Guild,” yelled a scrawny man with a pale complexion.  
“Join the Guild of the Neutral! Or, don’t,” said a women dressed in beige in a monotone voice.  
“Wow, real guilds! This is amazing,” Liz said, looking bright eyed towards the group.  
“Yeah, not quite,” Alex observed.  
Liz looked over to Alex slightly confused.  
“Real guilds don’t need to hand out flyers. These guys probably belong to unofficial guilds that can’t afford registration,”   
“But if guilds don’t advertise themselves, how are we gonna find one to join?”   
“That’s simple, come on Liz, let’s take a trip to the library.” Alex walked off down the busy street followed shortly behind by Liz and Bip.

Part 2- 7 Hours Till Test Time  
The elderly librarian looked over the top of her glasses at the trio standing on the opposite side of the library counter.  
“One guild almanac please,” Alex said, flashing his winning smile.  
Alex placed the large leather bound book trimmed with gold down on the table in front of Liz. The group sat at an old wooden table in the large brick library, echoing with whispers and the gentle turning of pages.  
Liz looked down at the book in front of her.   
“What’s this?” Liz whispered in awe.  
“It’s a guild almanac. It’s a comprehensive lists every official guild currently in operation.” explained Alex. “They only had last year’s addition so some of the information might be a little out of date.”   
Liz looked down at the massive book in wonder.  
“Wow, that’s so cool,” Liz said as she grabbed the book. “Let’s get into it already,”  
Liz pulled opened the cover revealing a completely blank page. She looked at it confused as she flicked through the pristine pages, each one completely devoid of any information.  
“Uhhh Alex. I think you got a defective one,” Liz said confused.  
“It’s a magical book Liz, it doesn’t work like that,” Alex said. “You gotta give it parameters and it’ll show you the best Guild that fits your description.”   
Liz tapped the table as she thought about what she wanted out of a Guild.  
“Hmm, I don’t know? Just like a good Guild, I guess,” Liz said.  
“You gotta be more specific than that,” said Alex.  
The book let out a high pitched ping.  
“Searching for, a good guild,” came a mechanical women’s voice from the book.  
The book began to turn its own pages until it stopped half way through on a blank page. Information began to slowly appear on the page surrounded by an elegant boarder. The page was ornately titled ‘The Good Guys Guild’ with neat lines of text underneath as well as an illustration of a coat of arms depicting a thumbs up.  
“The Good Guys Guild. Designation: the charity guild. Rating: C class. Description: The Good Guy’s Guild primarily focuses on preforming small acts of kindness for little to no charge. Members say they are payed in the smiles of those they help,” the book intoned.   
“Hmm, doesn’t really seem like the right guild for us,” Liz said clenching her fist in determination. “Alright, let’s find ourselves the perfect guild!”

Part 3- 1 Hours Till Test Time  
Bip laid curled up tightly, purring lightly in between his snores. Alex dug his forehead into the table as he let out a long sigh.  
“Come on Liz,” he moaned, “We’ve been at this for hours, just pick a guild already,”  
Liz continued intently scanning the page of the book.  
“I’m not just gonna pick any old guild Alex. It needs to be the perfect guild,” Liz said. “This ones not gonna do either,” she muttered to herself.  
Alex raised his head off the desk, his sunken eyes struggling to focus on Liz.  
“Finding the perfect guild won’t matter if we run out of time to register.”  
“Then I’ll just wait till next year. My original plan was to train for a few years before I took the guild test so I don’t mind waiting.”  
Alex slammed his head against the table forcefully, sending out a loud bang.  
“You’re hopeless” Alex grumbled into the timber. “Let’s try this again. What do you want out of a guild? And keep it specific.”  
“It’s not like I’m asking that much. A high paying guild that can take me across the world on all sorts of adventure. Is that so hard?”  
The book let out a high pitched ping. The pages flipped before stopping near the start. A list of guild names began to appear on the page.  
“Showing: 107 results,” the book said.  
Alex raised his head from the table and began to scan the page.  
“We’ve already look at most of these guilds,” he complained.  
Alex’s eyes stopped on one of the guilds.  
“This one’s new,” Alex continued tapping on the page.  
The book let out another high pitched ping  
“The Cleaner’s Guild. Designation: the cleanliness guild. Rating: A class. Description: The Cleaner’s Guild focus on all sorts of tasks and quests. Their magical prowess is second only to their powers of cleaning,” the book said.   
“No way! Who likes cleaning?” Liz said.  
“How about this one then?” said Alex, pointing at a line in the book.  
Liz shook her head, “Nah, I don’t like the name.”  
“This is hopeless.”  
“I’m sorry I have high standards Alex. This is an important decision. I don’t want just any guild; I want a guild in its own class. A class above the rest,” mused Liz.  
The book once again let out a ping and began flipping through its pages.  
“Searching for: a class above the rest,” said the book.  
The book landed on a page far into itself. The page’s title began to bleed in saying ‘The Guild of the Silver Sun” with a coat of arms of a sun.  
The pages of the book flew past eventually landing on a page far into itself. The inky swirl began to bleed across the paper and form the page’s title saying ‘The Guild of the Silver Sun”. A coat of arms featuring a blazing silver sun on a black background.  
“The Guild of the Silver Sun. Designation: the elite guild. Rating: S class. Description: the Guild of the Silver Sun is one of only 5 guilds to receive the S class and the first ever to do so.” the book said. “Only the most powerful mages are able to pass the guild’s rigorous tests. Due to the guilds reputation, they are often sort out by wealthy clients and those with tasks too dangerous for other, lesser guilds to take on.”  
“Wow, these guys sound like the real deal,” Alex looked up from the book to Liz. “What do you say Liz, these guys up to your standards?”  
Liz scratched her chin in thought as she let out a long hum.   
“Oh come on Liz, you can’t be serious these guys are perfect,” Alex complained.  
“Stop, your whining, but your right these guys do seem pretty perfect. I guess they’ll do.”  
“Wait, are you serious? We can finally leave?” Alex said excitedly grabbing the book off the desk as he stood up. “I’ll go return this then. Let’s get a move on, we haven’t got much time left.”  
Alex ran off through the library. Liz let out a long sigh as she looked over to Bip still sleeping calmly.  
“So impatient,” Liz said standing up and gently picking Bip up, cradling him as she walked to the door. “I just hope these guys live up to their reputation.”

Part 4- 10 minutes Till Test Time  
Liz, Alex and Bip stood on the footpath unsure of what exactly they were looking at. In front of the group stood a small, rickety wooden building, in complete contrast to the modern city scape surrounding it.  
“Ahhh Alex, you sure this is the place?” asked Liz.  
Alex looked down to a page ripped from the guild almanac before looking back up to the house.  
“Yeah, this is the address on the page.” Alex said.  
“Maybe they closed down?” Liz theorized.  
Bip flew up the stairs to the door of the building. Pinned to the door was a small piece of paper with writing on it. Bip scanned the writing on the sheet before turning around to Liz and Alex.  
“They’re still in business. Looks like we need to go ‘round to the backdoor,” Bip said before flying off down the disused alleyway beside the building.   
Alex and Liz glanced down the alleyway, before following Bip’s lead.They walked down the tight, cobweb filled alleyway, stepping over overflowing rubbish bins and piles of trash. Puddles of slimy rainwater collected in the potholes reflecting the meagre sunlight that glimpsed between the buildings.  
“Think I might be changing my mind about this guild,” said Liz.  
“No way. You can’t back out now,” Alex replied.  
“Seriously, look at this place! It’s a dump,” Liz complained. “I mean what kind of person would wanna join a guild this shabby.”  
Liz and Alex walked out of the alleyway onto a bustling footpath. The footpath was crowded with people lining up outside the guild building down the street as far as the eye could see. Alex stopped in his tracks and Liz’s jaw dropped at the sight.  
“Holy crap!” said Alex. “That’s a lot of people,”   
“This is hopeless. There’s no way we can get through all this in time,” Liz exclaimed.  
“Maybe if you were a little more decisive,” Alex mumbled.  
3 walked down along the line casually as he approached the guild building.   
“Wow, lot of new recruits this year,” 3 said to himself.  
3 looked over to the alleyway seeing Alex, Liz and Bip talking.  
“ Oh dear, you’re not inside already,” 3 said glancing down to his watch and over to the line. “Hmm this could be a problem. There’s no way you’ll make it through all of this in time,” 3 continued as he began walking towards the group. “I had hoped to keep our first encounter until after you had passed the test, but I suppose it can’t be helped,”  
Liz looked over to see the tall immaculately dressed man approaching them with purpose .  
“Ahhh, hey guys, is he looking at us?”   
Alex and Bip looked over to 3 as he reached the group stopping directly in front of them . There was an uncomfortable silence as 3 smiled pleasantly at the group.  
“Uhhhh, hello,” Bip said awkwardly.  
“Hello, my name is 3. nice to meet you,” 3 said bowing to the group.  
“Hello, please let me introduce myself. My name is 3”, said 3, “pleasure to meet you all,” he finished with a formal bow.  
“Ummm, nice to meet you too,” said Liz. “So what do you want?”  
“Oh, where are my manners,’ said 3 as he stood up and looked directly at Liz. “I’m here to escort you to the front of the line.”   
“Why would you do that?”  
“Well, I noticed your little predicament here. I sense great potential in your little group and as it happens I’m actually a part of the guild leadership, so it would be remiss of me to let such talented individual miss the chance to join our guild. So, what do you say?” 3 explained.   
“Huh really?” Liz exclaimed. “That sounds too good to be true. What do you think Alex?”  
Liz turned around to see Alex. His face was extremely pale and his mouth hung slightly agape. Alex’s fist was clenched tightly, his nails digging into the palm of his hand.   
“Ahh, Alex?” Liz said concerned. “You ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”  
Alex snapped out of his state shaking his head.  
“Huh, what? Yeah, that sounds great,” Alex said.  
“Splendid,” 3 exclaimed excitedly. “If you would please follow me, I shall take you inside.”   
3 began walking towards the guild building followed shorty behind by Liz, Alex and Bip. Liz looked across to Alex still obviously shaken by something. She shuffled over and leaned in close to Alex.  
“Alex, you ok?” Liz asked concerned by Alex’s sudden shift.  
“Huh, yeah I’m fine why you ask?” Alex replied unconvincingly.  
“Don’t lie to me Alex. The second that guy showed up you completely shut down. So what’s up, do you know him or something?”  
Alex looked down to the ground, reluctant to open up to Liz.  
“I don’t know,” Alex whispered looking back up to Liz. “I don’t think I’ve ever met him before, but when I look at him, I just get this bad feeling.”  
“Do you think it’s safe to trust him like this then?”  
“I don’t know, but it’s not like we have another option if we want to join a guild this year. Just be on your guard around him.”  
Liz nodded at Alex. The group walked up the stairs past the crowd to the door of the building. 3 pushed the door open and walked in. He held the door open gesturing for Liz, Alex and Bip to enter. The group walked into the cramped run down looking room with a small counter in the middle of it. a dingy light hung from the middle of the ceiling flickering intermittently. Along the back wall was another set of doors, barricaded shut by a large wooden plank.  
“What a dump,” Liz muttered under her breath.  
Suddenly a young girl shot up from behind the counter wearing a traditional floral dress. The girl looked around the room for a moment before her eyes landed on the group.  
“Oh hello Master 3, pleasure to have you back sir,” the lady said bowing down.  
“The pleasure is all mine Mia,” 3 said as he approached the counter. “I have some new recruits here as you can see. I was wondering if you could be a dear and fetch them a registration form.”  
Mia looked across to the group before turning her head back to face 3.  
“I’m sorry Master 3, we’re already at capacity. I’ve been told not to let anyone else in,” Mia said apologetically.  
3 leaned in close to Mia and began to whisper in her ear.   
“Ohh. I see,” Mia said.  
3 stood back up straight and smiled towards Mia.  
“Now do you understand?” he asked.  
“Of course sir,” Mia said turning her head to the group. “Excuse me, but if you could please come over here.”  
The group began to approach the counter. Mia ducked down and began rummaging around in the draws. She popped back up from under the bench holding two thick binders and a pair of ball point pens. Mia held the binders out to Liz and Alex with a practiced smile on her face.   
“Please fill out all the information on the front of your binder, and refrain from opening them until instructed,” Mia said as Alex and Liz took their binders. “These will act as your registration for the Guild of the Silver Sun, so please insure that all the information is completely accurate.”  
Alex and Liz placed their binders down on the counter and began filling out the information. Mia looked over, watching them write and patiently waiting for them to finish. Alex and Liz finished writing and held their binders out to Mia. Mia took the binders out of their hands and looked down at the information they had written down.  
“Thank you very much Mr Alex and Mrs Liz, now if you would please follow me,” Mia said as she walked over to the side of the counter.  
Mia lifted up the partition leading behind the counter and began walking towards the other door with small quick steps, followed shortly behind by the rest of the group. She grabbed the wooden plank blocking the door and with a strained push moved it to the side.  
“Please proceed into the main hall,” Mia said.  
“Main hall?” Isn’t that the front door?” Liz asked.  
“Ha, just wait,” 3 chuckled.   
The group began to walk towards the door.  
“Ummm I’m sorry sir,” Mia said holding her hand out to block Alex. “Your familiar isn’t allowed into the main hall during the test, to keep it fair for everyone.”  
“Huh, Bip? He’s my seeing eye famil…” Alex said before being cut off.  
“Alex it’s ok, don’t worry about it,” said Bip.  
“You sure?” asked Alex.  
“Yeah, it’ll be good to have you out of my hair for a while,” Bip teased.   
Mia let out a slight giggle.   
“Now that’s settled, please proceed, and the best of luck to the both of you,” Mia said.  
Mia placed both her hands on the door, and with a heave pushed open the doors. A blinding light flooded into the dingy room, as Liz and Alex looked on into the next step in their adventure.


End file.
